Reducing Home Page Bounce Rate
Multi-phased research
I have omitted and obfuscated information that may be considered confidential.
Tools
» UserTesting (remote unmoderated user/usability testing and interviews*)
» MS Office: PowerPoint, Excel, Microsoft Word
» Optimal Workshop: Reframer
» Jira
*I had to get crafty and devise a plan that would effectively collect information in a way that complies with legal constraints placed by the organization
My Role
Designed and executed the test plans and analyses; reports were put together in PPT for digestibility.
Collaborated with:
Data Analyst to discuss problematic user behaviors on site and created test plans to provide insight on the why and how to provide texture to the problems and ultimately come up with recommendations.
UX Director, Sr Optimization Manager, and Product to determine prioritization.
Designers to incorporate learnings and user insights into the next iterations of site design.
Background
Product Site ‘X’ utilizes a state-of-the-art API that constructs product ‘z’ in a way that is creative, memorable, and personalized to users. All users need to do is conduct a search on the site; if needed there exists a site tool that provides step-by-step inspiration for constructing the perfect product ‘z’. Though this is a product site, it is non-transactional and rather partners with retailers who sell the product.
The Problem: Alarmingly high bounce rate upon landing.
Analytics had raised the concern about an alarmingly high bounce rate upon landing on Product Site ‘X’. After further investigating paid media and targeting, it seemed there was something beyond whether a qualified audience was reaching the site - regardless whether they were top-, mid-, or bottom-funnel visitors. Something about the site itself was detracting visitors from initial engagement.
The site’s performance was excellent and its function was clear (validated through past Usability Testing); the layout was clean and had plenty of whitespace — what more did users need?
Initiative #1: Competitive User Testing
Goals
Testing Goal:
Determine what aspects contribute to a more trustworthy and credible first impression in the industry.
Business Goals:
Reduce bounce rate and improve site engagement on landing page.
Method
Split usability test of Product Site ‘X’ against competitor site ‘Y’ in order to gauge initial impressions and ratings of trust and credibility and the aspects that contribute to those ratings.
I conducted a split usability test of a “competitor” site ‘Y’ (which directly sells the product) against Product Site ‘X’. Participants were screened to ensure we recruit purchasing intenders of the product (within the next month). Those who qualified were given a scenario to get into the mindset of searching for that product online.
They were directed to either Site ‘X’ or competitor ‘Y’ and presented with a series of self-guided tasks:
» Take a moment to look around the site and describe initial impressions; and
» Rank the site (on a 3-pt scale) on trustworthiness and credibility, and provide an explanation for those ratings.
Participants were then asked to repeat this task on the next site.
To account for serial position effect, I split participants into two groups, reversing the order by which Group 2 viewed the sites.
Takeaways
Credibility
Lack of content & imagery and excessive white space/simplicity on site ‘X’ left participants feeling it was a “work in progress,” resulting in lower levels of credibility.
Conversely, the modern layout & imagery and content led to nearly all participants rate site ‘Y’ as trustworthy.
Trust
Nearly half of participants indicated they did not trust site ‘X’ despite it having a secured URL and privacy statement hyperlink in the footer.
Transparency into product details and pricing options, Customer Support contact information, and legal information, having a secured URL contributed to feelings of credibility on site ‘Y’.
Unfortunately, because Product Site ‘X’ is not transactional, it cannot provide features and pricing options, nor can it provide Customer Support.
TL;DR
Product Site ‘X’ needed to make it clear that it is non-transactional, but rather a launching pad for partner retailers; and it needed content on its site to feel more legitimate.
Hypothesis: If we incorporate our partner retailers’ logos onto our landing page, then we will evoke feelings of trust and credibility because we will be leveraging the brand power of our partners, which users are familiar with.
This was also a desirable first step because it could be implemented quickly and alludes to pass-off to partner sites.
Initiative #2: 5 Second User Test
Goals
Testing Goal:
Evaluate whether incorporating partner logos’ on the homepage of site ‘X’ evokes feelings of trust and credibility.
Business Goals:
Reduce bounce rate and improve site engagement on landing page.
Method
5-second test in order to determine flash judgements of credibility and trust without partner logos vs with partner logos.
I constructed a screener to ensure we recruit purchasing intenders of the product (within the next month).
Participants were split into two groups: control (w/o logos) and experimental (w/ logos). They were given a scenario to get into the mindset of searching for that product online and presented with a series of self-guided tasks:
» (5-second task) Participants were asked to look around the page for 5 seconds, before it goes blank;
» Followed by ranking the site (3-pt scale) on trust and credibility; and
» Asked to describe what they recalled seeing.
Takeaways
Incorporating the logos did effectively establish trust and credibility in first impressions.
Participants in the logos group latched on to the “trusted partners” in their explanations of credibility.
Hypothesis: If we incorporate user research-generated content onto our homepage, then we will see an increase in time spent on page because the site will seem more credible and content will be relevant for users.
Initiative #3: User Interviews
Goals
Research Goal:
Utilize themes derived from interviews to come up with content strategy for the homepage.
Business Goals:
Increase time spent on homepage and encourage users to engage.
Method
Interviews on target audience to determine important points along the user journey that would be most relevant to users for content strategy.
Working within constraints set by the organization, I conducted (unmoderated) interviews on the target audience to determine:
» What prompted them to seek the product;
» Their process for finding and purchasing the product;
» What, if anything, they particularly liked or disliked about the process;
» Next steps after getting the product;
» Have they realized their goal that prompted the purchase, and if not, what they still need to research to get them there;
Using thematic analysis, I was able to identify key themes throughout the user journey that are important to the user before, during, and after the purchase process.
These insights were then used to guide content strategy to encourage purchase, inform of its various uses and benefits, etc.
Though I cannot discuss those findings here, I am happy to provide more context verbally.
Next Steps
Connect with Analytics to determine whether there has been any change in site behavior - including reduction in bounce, increased time spent on page, increased engagement, etc.